The present invention relates generally to a device for assisting a individual in rising from a bed, chair or commode, and more particularly to a device which cooperates with the ground, the wall, and/or another stationary workpiece to enable an individual to rise from a reclining or seated position and, in some cases, assist the user in walking.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that certain elderly or infirm individuals have difficultly in rising and walking without assistance. It will be further appreciated by those skilled in the art that many of these individuals desire to be able to rise or walk without the assistance of another or without the assistance of a wheelchair or hoist. To this end, there have been several attempts to provide an individual with a mechanism to either rise from a seated position or walk.
A combined bed-tray, table, and walker is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,232,251 issued to W. P. Hughes on Feb. 1, 1966. Unfortunately, the Hughes patent requires an individual to push downwardly to rise from a seated position. The base of Hughes is not broad enough to allow an individual to pull himself or herself up from a seated position. Hughes does not cooperate with the workpiece from which the person rises. Also, Hughes fails to provide an easy method of adjustment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,599 issued to T. Cunningham issues on Apr. 9, 1991, has many of the same problems as Hughes. Cunningham does not provide the broad base which allows a person to pull himself or herself up. Instead, the user must push up. This is difficult in elderly patients who may not be able to stand to the level high enough to push up.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,912 issued to M. Harroun on Oct. 22, 1991, has many of the problems of Cunningham. Instead, the user must push up. The base is not broad enough to cooperate with the floor to provide sufficient leverage. Further, the device can only be used with the chair that is attached to the walker.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,258 issued to M. Wolferts on Apr. 16, 1963, does not provided a base which is sufficiently deep enough to provide leverage to allow the user to pull up. Further, the device does not appear to be easily adjustable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,576 issued to C. McGee on Feb. 9, 1982, fails to provide the broad base necessary to allow an individual to pull up. Instead, the individual must push up.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,793 issued to A. Wilson on Jun. 19, 1973, fails to recognize the need to allow an individual to pull up as opposed to push up.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,553,746 issued to H. Seiger on Jan. 12, 1971, fails to provide a mechanism which allows the individual to use the device as a walker.
What is needed, then, is a portable device which enables a user to pull, as opposed to push, up from a seated position. This needed device must be adaptable to and obtain leverage from variety of objects found in the home from which a person might rise from a seated position. Further, this device should be easily adjustable and be useful as a walker as well. This device should also contain a clearance section along the base to clear hazards such as objects, thresholds, and the like. This device is presently lacking in the prior art.